Our September meeting was lively, long, and well-attended.
Supervisor Vallie Brown
District 5 Supervisor Vallie Brown made her first visit to a HANC meeting since she was appointed Supervisor. Long-time HANC members remember Supervisor Brown as an aide to Supervisors Mirkarimi and Breed. She often showed up at HANC meetings on behalf of then Supervisor Mirkarimi when he was not able to attend.
Supervisor Brown discussed her top priorities—addressing the homeless crisis, addressing the housing crisis, and cleaning and greening District 5 neighborhoods. She supports building additional housing “at all income levels.” She has also endorsed San Francisco Proposition C and California Proposition 10.
Supervisor Brown would like to bring a Navigation Center to District 5, although not to the Haight-Ashbury. She believes the model should be changed to become a pathway to stable, supportive housing.
Supervisor Brown lives in Cole Valley, and we should expect to see her in our neighborhood often. She understands that the Haight Street Public Realm / SFMTA project will be difficult for neighborhood merchants, and is sponsoring a Haight Street “shop and dine” campaign for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. She has also proposed using the parking lot at the former McDonald’s site for additional parking during the holiday season, and until demolition of the former McDonald’s building occurs.
Supervisor Brown’s legislative aide, Shakirah Simley, also came to the meeting and introduced herself. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Supervisor Brown’s email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., although she encourages constituents to contact her staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
San Francisco Proposition B
Next, we heard a debate over San Francisco Proposition B, “City Privacy Guidelines.” Lee Hepner, Legislative Aide to Supervisor Aaron Peskin, spoke in favor of the measure, and Allyson Washburn, San Franciscans for Sunshine Coordinator spoke in opposition. Both speakers were former Sunshine Task Force Members--Allyson Washburn had been a former Chair (and also a former President of the League of Women Voters).
Proposition B would add a “Privacy First Policy” section to the San Francisco City Charter. The Proposition would require the City Administrator to propose an ordinance to the Board of Supervisors that would limit the collection, storage, sharing and use of personal information by the City, by third party contractors with the City, and by third parties with permits, grants, or licenses issued by the City.
The argument for this measure is that it would provide protections against the use of personal data by these entities, and ensure transparency when personal data is used.
The arguments against this measure are that this measure allows the Board of Supervisors to water down the Sunshine Ordinance, that it only sets policy without actually accomplishing any legislation, and that it would decrease government transparency.
California Proposition 10
The meeting ended with a debate over California Proposition 10. This debate started late, and lasted until about 9:20 pm, when the lights went out in the Library Community Room. Lorraine Petty, from Senior and Disability Action, spoke in favor of the measure, and Todd David, from the Housing Action Coalition, spoke against the measure.
The measure itself would repeal the California Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. The repeal would allow local jurisdictions to set their own rent control policies.
Arguments in favor of Prop 10 include that it allows for more local control over housing policy, that it does not mandate any specific rent control, and that it provides that landlords are entitled to a fair rate of return on their property.
The main argument against Prop 10 by Todd Davis is that it discourages the building of additional housing. During the discussion, some of the landlords of smaller properties in our neighborhood indicated that they would get out of the rental business if Prop 10 passes, as they expect the City (with a substantial majority of tenants) to pass draconian measures limiting their ability to collect rents.
As mentioned above, the discussion ended abruptly, when the lights went out.